Happy Anniversary to Ohana Retreat Bali

We opened to great fanfare (not really) exactly a year ago. It was definitely a “soft” opening. During the entire month of June we had only one set of guests (3 people in one loft room)…

Have you ever tried opening up a boutique hotel with no reviews in this day and age? I don’t recommend it. All of the major OTAs (online travel agencies) such as AirBnb, Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, etc have something called “algorithms.” And if you don’t have any reviews, the algorithms, which are responsible for how high you appear on a web page, don’t like you.

But eventually we started to get noticed and July through October we did quite well. In November we took a dive, and so we added a monthly rate that’s 60% cheaper than daily rates. We became attractive to the digital nomad crowd and other off-season types.

In just a 12 month period, our guests have come from 30 countries. To have such a variety of folks stay with us was a pleasant surprise, although we knew Bali was an international destination. Still, it’s remarkable. We’ve had stellar reviews and testimonials and in most cases our experiences with our guests have truly felt like “ohana,” the Hawaiian word for extended family.

We also celebrated the birthday of our employee (Darma), who has been with us the longest, exactly a year:

The last three months have been very difficult for us (and the entire world). We currently have one set of guests who’ve been with us throughout most of the pandemic, and its been great to not be completely alone.

We consider our hotel to be a great place for those who want minimal contact with others, as we only have six rooms. We also rent the entire facility for those who want to only be with their loved ones and friends. As a personal retreat we maintain a peaceful setting, with modern conveniences and a clean, comfy atmosphere.

We remain hopeful that this coming year will be as exciting as our first year, enabling our guests to refresh, rejuvenate, and retreat.